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Overview

Catching a killer is dangerous—especially if he lives next door

From the hugely talented author of The Kind Worth Killing comes an exquisitely chilling tale of a young suburban wife with a history of psychological instability whose fears about her new neighbor could lead them both to murder . . .Hen and her husband Lloyd have settled into a quiet life in a new house outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Hen (short for Henrietta) is an illustrator and works out of a studio nearby, and has found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. Finally, she’s found some stability and peace.

But when they meet the neighbors next door, that calm begins to erode as she spots a familiar object displayed on the husband’s office shelf. The sports trophy looks exactly like one that went missing from the home of a young man who was killed two years ago. Hen knows because she’s long had a fascination with this unsolved murder—an obsession she doesn’t talk about anymore, but can’t fully shake either.

Could her neighbor, Matthew, be a killer? Or is this the beginning of another psychotic episode like the one she suffered back in college, when she became so consumed with proving a fellow student guilty that she ended up hurting a classmate?

The more Hen observes Matthew, the more she suspects he’s planning something truly terrifying. Yet no one will believe her. Then one night, when she comes face to face with Matthew in a dark parking lot, she realizes that he knows she’s been watching him, that she’s really on to him. And that this is the beginning of a horrifying nightmare she may not live to escape. . .

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Product Details

About the Author

Peter Swanson is the author of three novels: The Girl With a Clock For a Heart, an LA Times Book Award finalist; The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger; and his most recent, Her Every Fear. His books have been translated into 30 languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Atlantic Monthly, Measure, The Guardian, The Strand Magazine, and Yankee Magazine. A graduate of Trinity College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Emerson College, he lives in Somerville, Massachusetts with his wife.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/28/2019

At the start of this exceptional psychological thriller from Swanson (All the Beautiful Lies), bipolar Hen “Henrietta” Mazur and her husband, Lloyd Harding, have dinner one night at the suburban Boston home of neighbors Mira and Matt Dolamore, with whom they’ve recently bonded over their mutual childlessness. At one point, Hen spots a fencing trophy on their hosts’ fireplace mantel that she believes was won by Dustin Miller, a college student who was murdered two years earlier and who attended the high school where Matt teaches history. Matt claims that he bought the trophy at a yard sale, but Hen, who’s become obsessed with Dustin’s case, suspects that Matt killed Dustin. The next day, when she visits the Dolamores, the trophy is missing, reinforcing her suspicions. However, Hen gets little support from Lloyd or the police because of her history of mental health problems and of falsely accusing others of murder. An uneasy relationship soon develops between Hen and Matt, whose traumatic childhood adds emotional heft to the narrative. Surprising twists help keep the suspense high to the end. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber Assoc. (Mar.)

Hen and her husband, Lloyd, have just left Boston for the tranquil burbs, and things are looking up for her. After a psychotic break sparked by the unsolved murder of a neighbor, Hen is on the mend, her bipolar disorder under control, her optimism resurgent, her career as an illustrator of dark YA books taking off. At a meet and greet she and her husband hit it off, or think they should, with their next-door neighbors Matthew and Mira, the only other childless couple nearby. But when they cross the driveway for a barbecue, the potential for neighborly coziness curdles. Hen notices a little fencing trophy on a shelf in Matthew's office and recognizes it—or wonders if she recognizes it—as one of the mementos the police reported was stolen from the murder scene in the city. When Hen recalls that the man killed was once a student at the prep school where Matthew teaches history, Hen grows suspicious of Matthew—and starts to stalk him. Is this a break in the case or the beginning of another fit of paranoia? And even if it's the former, who will believe Hen's suspicions given her earlier obsession with the case and the hospitalization it led to? Swanson is at his best in exploring the kinship—or what some see as the kinship—between artist and killer, one of the themes of Swanson's great model and forebear, Patricia Highsmith. Swanson isn't quite up to Highsmith's lofty mark, and he succumbs toward the end to a soap opera-like plot-twist-too-far...but for the most part, this novel delivers.

A dark, quick-moving, suspenseful story stuffed full of psychological quirk and involution.

Kirkus Reviews

The Girl with a Clock for a Heart is a twisty, sexy, electric thrill ride and an absolute blast from start to finish.

Dennis Lehane

Mr. Swanson unfolds this creepy story with the assurance and economy of a master. Surprises follow one another with inevitability, until the final electrifying jolt.

Wall Street Journal

What would happen if a serial killer met the perfect confidant, someone who would never be believed if they revealed his secrets? Nothing good… Swanson has crafted another bar-raising psychological thriller with this tense, unexpected spin on serial killers and those obsessed with them.

Booklist

Swanson has drawn on Alfred Hitchcock to good effect. In All the Beautiful Lies, he looks instead to du Maurier… The reader is soon gripped and wondering which will come first: Harry’s seduction or his death? Swanson’s magpie borrowings are always finessed into something fresh and piquant.

The Guardian

There’s a neat twist at the end, but the real surprise is the way characters are allowed to grieve their losses, a luxury not always allowed in stories of this type. For a fast-paced thriller, Before She Knew Him achieves an impressive significance in its pauses.

BookPage

This devilishly clever noir thriller could have been called “Strangers on a Plane.” … It would have made a great Hitchcock movie.… Unlike most books that fail to live up to the hype, this one makes good on the promise, right down to the chilling final paragraph.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

This acutely perceptive writer has become a master of psychological chills and thrills, transforming what appears to be ‘cosy domestic’ into something infinitely more dangerous and deadly… A sizzling slice of his unique brand of domestic noir… Tingling with tension [and] brimming with menace.

The Guardian (UK)

In Peter Swanson’s expert hands, one woman’s discerning observation at a quiet suburban dinner party unfolds into a gripping, twisty, psychologically complex thriller. I could not put it down.

Alafair Burke

[Swanson] knows how to ration his twists and where in the narrative to place them, devoting just the right amount of time to exploring the ramifications of each new development before spinning the story off in an ominous new direction… De Palma, or Hitchcock… would kill for the film rights.

The National (UK)

Swanson’s fourth psychological thriller is a gripping exploration of delusion and deceit; sure to please readers of Laura Lippman’s stand-alones.

Booklist on All the Beautiful Lies

Complex [and] intriguing… [Swanson] makes sure to place those twists and turns perfectly... And when someone else turns up dead, the story goes from 0-to-60 in a split-second. Peter Swanson has done a fantastic job.

Suspense Magazine on All the Beautiful Lies

An explosive mix of seductions, obsessions, and dark secrets.

New York Journal of Books on All the Beautiful Lies

There are many twists and turns, and quite a few surprises along the way…. A solid, twisty work of suspense.

Gripping… [Alice’s] past is peppered with secrets and the damage is revealed in a split narrative between now and then, culminating in an edge of the seat ending.

Sunday Post (UK) on All the Beautiful Lies

This atmospheric, stylish mystery is pure pleasure.

Sunday Mirror (UK) on All the Beautiful Lies

The Year’s Best Fiction: … A taut thriller with a mounting body count and a final twist so ruthlessly clever it’s criminal.

Entertainment Weekly on The Kind Worth Killing

The spirit of film noir is alive in this twisty tale of an ordinary man whose life is disrupted by his first love—an old-fashioned femme fatale who brings double crossings, financial scams and murder in her devastating wake. Clever and stylish.

Sunday Mirror (UK) on The Girl With a Clock For a Heart

The skillfully conjured Boston winter creates the perfect atmosphere for breeding paranoia, which kicks into high gear with the introduction of Cherney’s Rear Window-like flashbacks. Swanson … introduces a delicious monster-under-the-bed creepiness to the expected top-notch characterization and steadily mounting anxiety.

Booklist (starred review) on Her Every Fear

10/15/2018Her bipolar disorder under control, illustrator Henrietta and her husband enjoy a new house outside Boston with a nice little studio for her out back. But she's a bit obsessed with unsolved crimes, and she can't help but notice that a sports trophy perched on a shelf at the neighbors' house looks just like one that vanished from the home of a young man killed two years earlier. With a 75,000-copy first printing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Before She Knew Him: A Novel 4.1 out of 5based on
0 ratings.
10 reviews.

marykuhl

5 days ago

Hen knows her next door neighbor, Matthew, is a killer. But then she sees him kill and no one believes her. The story flowed, the characters were likable. First book I have read by this author, and I was not disappointed. There were some good, strong twists and turns I didn't see coming. I would definitely recommend.

AnnieRF

9 days ago

Thanks to Shelf-Awareness for an ARC of this book. Swanson tells the story of two couples who are neighbors - Lloyd and Hen are a couple newly arrived in the neighborhood and their next door neighbors Matthew and Mira. The book centers around the back and forth interactions of Matthew and Hen. Hen is an artist with a mental illness. Matthew is the neighbor she thinks committed a murder. Very early in the story the truth about the murder is revealed. The real story lies in the interactions between Hen and Matthew. The story is told from their perspectives as well as the perspectives of additional characters. Even though there are several perspectives used to advance the story line the author does a credible job of using them without getting bogged down.
I enjoyed reading this book. It was a quick read that moved along well. It kept my interest throughout the story line although I did figure out the "twist" long before the ending. Even so it was an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday.

Anonymous

10 days ago

This was a quick read that kept me hooked until the last page. Looking forward to reading this authors other books.

JennaBookish

10 days ago

My thanks to William Morrow for sending me a copy of this book at no cost in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the publisher.
Before She Knew Him is a quick and super creepy read. I will preface this review by saying that I think the synopsis is slightly misleading. It asks: "Could her neighbor, Matthew, be a killer? Or is this the beginning of another psychotic episode like the one she suffered back in college, when she became so consumed with proving a fellow student guilty that she ended up hurting a classmate?" You may be led to believe that there's some mystery surrounding whether or not Matthew is actually a murderer, and there truly isn't.
The novel is told through multiple point of view characters, one of which is Matthew himself, so it is revealed very early on that Hen's suspicions about him are correct. So what's sort of framed in the synopsis as a mystery for the reader is more Hen's own internal struggle with herself and her struggle to be taken seriously as someone with a mental illness. Hen may remind readers a lot of Anna Fox from The Woman in the Window or Rachel Watson from The Girl on the Train. Mira, Matthew's wife, is also a point of view character for a few chapters, and these chapters were a lot of fun. It was interesting to see Matthew through her lens and watch how her impression of him slowly changed throughout the story.
Gendered violence is a major theme throughout the book; men who hurt women and men who hurt other men to protect women are central to most of the violence which occurs. Given the subject matter, I'd like to give a trigger warning for this novel in regards to sexual violence, with the caveat that it never becomes graphic or overly descriptive in this regard.
Overall, the story was fast-paced, deliciously creepy, and has just enough twists and turns to keep the reader super engaged without veering into ridiculousness. Swanson juggles various point of view characters without the novel feeling overly crowded or jumbled. I would definitely recommend this novel to fans of A. J. Finn or Paula Hawkins!

A-S

12 days ago

“Before she knew him” by Peter Swanson follows Hen and her husband Lloyd as they meet their new neighbors, Matthew and his wife---with Hen quickly becoming convinced that Matthew had something to do with an unsolved murder of a young man after she notices his old sports trophy in Matthew’s office. Hen’s reaction does not go unnoticed by Matthew. Meanwhile, as more victims come to light, Hen becomes convinced that her next door neighbor is a serial killer.
The chapters are narrated by both Hen and Matthew, switching back and forth between them, as well as additional characters. Because of those narratives, both characters have a rich backstory, so what ends up propelling the plot is their confrontation of each other—the accused and the accuser. I found this to be a quick read, with dark memorable characters.

SheTreadsSoftly

15 days ago

Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson is a highly recommended thriller with unreliable narrators.
Hen (Henrietta) Mazur and her husband Lloyd Harding are settling into their new suburban home outside of Boston. It's a perfect location for Lloyd's commute and Hen's rented studio space nearby. Life seems to be going well for the couple, especially now that Hen is on the right medication to control her bi-polar disorder. When they meet and are invited over for dinner by their neighbors, Mira and Matthew Dolamore, the night is uneventful until Hen spots a fencing trophy in Matthew's study that she knows looks like one that belonged to a young man who was murdered two years before. Hen has been obsessed with this case and she knows the trophy went missing after the murder.
Matthew works at the school where the murdered young man attended and he knows Hen suspects him of something, so he removes the trophy. This marks the start of Hen's obsession with Matthew and she begins to watch/stalk him. Is she having another psychotic episode, like the one she had during college, or is Matthew a killer? Hen talks to Lloyd and the police, but it is unclear if anyone believes her due to her history of mental health problems.
Chapters alternate between the points-of-view of the characters. Clearly none of these people are reliable and it is difficult to ascertain if any of the characters can be trusted. None of these characters are likeable either, which can be a plus or minus. As you enter into their thought processes and actions, you aren't going to trust any of them. Hen's immediate visceral reaction to Matthew after seeing the trophy and promptly suspecting him of murder is odd and a pretty big hurdle. The characters are developed, although just to the extent that Swanson deems necessary for his narrative. Bad choices and bad decisions abound in these characters.
The writing is quite good and held my attention, even through my disbelief. Swanson also manages to ratchet up the tension while building the suspense and keeping the atmosphere dark and disorientating. It is clear that something bad is going to come of all of this, it is just uncertain, with these flawed characters in what form or from whom the imminent nefarious deed will come. Swanson manages to pull it all together in the end and several of my questions and doubts were resolved. The ending is satisfying, but does enter a somewhat well-traveled twist.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.

Anonymous

15 days ago

This is a fast, easy, entertaining read, filled with surprising twists/turns, even 1 last one on the last page! This was the 1st I read of P. Swanson, but he's on my 'to-read' list....so I'll read more!

3no7

16 days ago

“Before She Knew Him” by Peter Swanson poses the question “How well could you really know another person?” Henrietta, a full-time artist and illustrator of children’s books, is pleasant and likeable. Her life is good; she had a troubled past but had come through foul weather and torrential rain to stand there in the sun. Her current cocktail of meds keeps her bipolar disorder from rearing its ugly head, and now she has her own studio walking distance from home. Her husband Lloyd takes the commuter rail into Boston for his job in public relations.
At a neighborhood block party, “Hen” and Lloyd meet Matthew and Mira Dolamore who live immediately next door. The couples became casual friends, and everyone seemed to be happy. Much later Hen would realize how wrong that first impression was. Matthew and Mira invite Hen and Lloyd over for dinner. The dinner conversation is normal, usual, perhaps boring, talk about jobs, the neighborhood, and other causal topics. Things change when Hen notices a trophy on the mantel, a fencing trophy. Later she shares her fears with Lloyd. “I’m not being paranoid or obsessive, and I don’t feel manic, but I know. Our neighbor killed Dustin Miller.”
The story progresses with the point of view shifting between Hen and Matthew, and sometimes Mira Readers get to know each of them well and follow their thoughts, and observe the possible, the improbable, and the unthinkable, all from each point of view. However, are the views of these characters accurate or are people seeing murderers where there are none? Things turn, significantly, strangely, desperately, and readers are not even halfway through, when a different voice, a first person narrative, starts with even more twists, turns. and treachery.
Characters want to pretend that nothing is wrong, but something is very, very wrong. Everyone has secrets; everyone is wrong about some things, and everyone is right about something else. Mira laments that “She had done what she wanted, and look what had happened. She had a psychotic neighbor now, out to get her husband.” Others share significant thoughts as well. “People are defined by their actions. What they do is who they are. ““Your husband made you do it.” And the most revealing comment of all, “I like to kill people.”
“Before She Knew Him” is full of secrets -- personal secrets, private secrets, and shared secrets; those might be the most dangerous ones. I received a review copy of “Before She Knew Him” from Peter Swanson, and publishers William Morrow and Harper Collins. Swanson created tension on every page, and readers feel they are in on a secret, a frightening, and perilous secret. Just when readers think that nothing can be as strange as what has already happened, something even stranger happens, even on the last page.

Katie__B

16 days ago

4.5 stars
I've now read all 5 of Peter Swanson's books, and this one is my second favorite, ranking just behind The Kind Worth Killing. It was disturbing but I didn't think it crossed into super uncomfortable territory when it's not even fun to read. I thought it was an entertaining read and really showcased some of the author's strengths as a writer.
Hen and her husband Lloyd seek more of a quiet lifestyle and move into a neighborhood outside of Boston. They are invited over for dinner at their neighbors' house and Hen is horrified when she spots a sports trophy in the home that she is convinced belonged to a murder victim. Did Hen's neighbor Matthew have something to do with the unsolved murder or is she suffering from another psychotic episode like she had in college?
One of the things I enjoy about the author is he is not afraid to shift gears in the middle of the story and go in a different direction. Most authors would have dragged this story out and you wouldn't find out until the very end if Hen was right about Matthew or not. Instead you get that answer fairly quickly and the rest of the story plays out in an unusual way.
If you are a fan of Peter Swanson, you are no doubt aware that things are usually not quite as they seem in his stories and this one certainly is no exception. My only criticism of the book is I feel the big "OMG!" moment didn't have as big of an impact as it could have because too many hints were dropped along the way. In no way did that ruin the book for me but I am slightly disappointed I was able to correctly predict it. There were however other things in the story that did catch me off guard and it was nice to be surprised.
Definitely recommend if you are a fan of the genre or have enjoyed some of the author's other novels.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a free advance copy! I'm not sure if I won this in a giveaway or some magical book fairy knew how much I wanted to read this book and granted me my wish. I was under no obligation to post a review and all views expressed are my honest opinion.

booklover-

16 days ago

Hen (Henrietta) and her husband Lloyd have moved into a new neighborhood. She is a children's book illustrator and works in a studio. She has a mental health problem but is on medications that seem to control the bipolar episodes. Her past medical history has included stays in a psychiatric hospital and lots of therapy.
Meeting the new neighbors next door, everything seems to be going well. The couple, Mira and Matthew are also childless and they have a lot in common. Her calm comes to an end when she spots something on Matthew's office shelf. There sits an object that she thinks went missing with the murder of a young man who was killed two years ago.
During her frenetic episodes years earlier she became obsessed with unsolved crimes.
Could her neighbor be a killer? Or is this the beginning of another psychotic episode like the one she suffered back in college, when she became so consumed with proving a fellow student guilty that she ended up hurting a classmate?
She spends time watching him, only to find him watching her. Is she in danger because of what she knows ... or is this just another part of her psychosis?
This is a real page-turner with stand-out characters that are memorable. The story premise is a good one, with many twists and turns along the way to a surprising ending.
Many thanks to the author/ William Morrow / Edelweiss for the advanced digital copy of this psychological thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.